The Perceptual Northwest

Abstract

Our goal is to survey cultural perceptions defi ning the U.S. Northwest region. As geographers, we should concern ourselves with mental constructs of regions, as they can easily impede or facilitate communication. Assumptions of others' regional boundaries and images may be erroneous. Over the past several decades, a handful of geographers have begun to examine these perceptual (or vernacular) maps and regions. Students at 21 colleges and universities were asked to identify:(1) boundaries of the U.S. Northwest region; (2) Northwest regional characteristics and symbols; and (3) what cities or other places best represent the Northwest.

Transformation of the identity of a region: Theory and the empirical case of the perceptual regions of Bohemia and Moravia, Czech Republic

“…As already stated, people's perceptions are based on their knowledge that, in turn, is highly dependent on distance (from place of residence, specifically), but also on various mediated representations. Perceptions/knowledge can be dependent also on a person's sex/gender, age, educational level, nativity, nationality, and so forth (Chalupa, 2015;Good, 1981;Gould and White, 1986;Lowry, 2013;Lowry et al, 2008;Lynch, 1960;Marek, 2015;Relph, 1976;Shortridge, 1985;Siwek, 2011;Šimáček, 2012, 2013;Ulack and Raitz, 1982). Also, the power of institutions reproducing the regions and imprinting themselves into people's perceptual regions vary contextually (Marek, 2020a).…”

“…On the other hand, there are many empirical works which, for the most part, touch on this issue: e.g. Brownell, 1960;Didelon-Loiseau et al, 2018;Good, 1981;Hale, 1984;Holmén, 2017;Homanyuk, 2019;Jordan, 1978;Lamme and Oldakowski, 2007;Lowry, 2013;Lowry et al, 2008;Shortridge, 1980Shortridge, , 1985Shortridge, , 1987Siwek and Bogdová, 2007;Siwek andKaňok 2000a, 2000b;Raitz, 1981, 1982;Zdorkowski and Carney, 1985. The purpose of such studies, however, is mostly to delimit regions existing in people's minds -thus, the theory of regions is of little relevance to them. Others do care about the theory, but their contribution to the discussion of a region's transformation is rather limited (Heath, 1993;Semian, 2012aSemian, , 2012bŠimáček, 2012, 2013;Vaishar andZapletalová, 2016, Vukosav, 2011).…”

Use of Business-Naming Practices to Delineate Vernacular Regions: A Michigan Example

“…Typically, geographers survey people through questions or by having respondents annotate maps. As a composite, the resulting map is an average of respondents' perceptions of a given region's boundaries (Hale 1983;Lowry, Patterson, and Forbes 2008). These studies most commonly ask geography students, since they make for easy respondents by virtue of their classroom presence.…”

“…John Shelton Reed (1976) compared the frequency of Dixie and The South, and a generation later his study was updated to reflect the declining use of the term Dixie (Ambinakudige 2009). The vernacular Midwest and Pacific Northwest have been mapped (Shortridge 1980(Shortridge , 1985Lowry, Patterson, and Forbes 2008). A handful of studies focus on states.…”

The (Mal)Functionality of Vernacular

“…As someone who has advocated for folklorists to work toward a theory of mind rather than stop at describing manifest behaviors (Bronner 2021c), I find this use of vernacular compelling for its psychological perspective. Yet in subsequent publications other geographers abandoned "vernacular" and favored use of "perceptual", "cognitive", "folk", and "popular" to highlight ways of knowing by individuals in geographical spaces (Tuan 2003;Lowry et al 2008). Zelinsky's (1980) application of vernacular to signify residents' perceptions of their surroundings bears further consideration as method, although he still judges those who have these perceptions as "untutored" rather than suggesting tearing down the walls between the academic observer and the subject with reference to "us", as Valk (2023) states.…”